Ski Homewood, a popular ski resort on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe, California, has failed at communicating its plans clearly, but over the weekend, its team wanted to make one thing clear—Homewood will always be public.
Those are the words directly from the Lake Tahoe-region ski area’s statement, which was published Saturday on social media. Homewood is trying to navigate plans to carry out much-needed improvements to its infrastructure, and ideas of privatizing the mountain were floated. That led to a resounding amount of pushback, and then, a lot of silence.
“As we've worked with various agencies on our master plan, we've failed to keep you – our friends and neighbors – clearly informed on our plans,” the statement said. “We’re sorry we let you down, and we are grateful for the chance to create better transparency and clear up any misinformation.”
With the need for upgrades, the folks at Ski Homewood did explore a private resort model. “It quickly became clear that not only is a private model not aligned with the approved master plan, it's also not what's best for the community or the mountain,” the statement said.
While riders and skiers might love the old-school vibe at Homewood, there’s a severe need for improvements. With that, the ski area released a plan that offers a 35% discount to full-time West Shore residents, and a 50% season pass discount to local first responders, teachers, and military members. Each of those passes would come with six buddy discounts. But Kathy Astromoff, of the organization Keep Homewood Public, wants to see a more specific plan.
“Keep Homewood Public is delighted that HMR appears to be taking TRPA’s recent guidance - and our community’s feedback - seriously. We also agree that locals, public servants, employees, and young skiers/boarders should get special benefits in Homewood’s future plans,” she said in an email.
Photo: Geri Lavrov/Getty Images
“But, actions speak louder than words. We need Homewood to translate this newfound goodwill, transparency, and community focus into enforceable specifics about public access, properly documented so regulators can enforce public access in perpetuity.” The thought of going private was outrageous to many in the Tahoe community, not just customers, but other ski areas as well.
Donner Ski Ranch threw punches at Homewood with a satirical press release announcing that it would open for the season. It played off of a real release put out by Homewood earlier this fall.
“Unlike other small ski resorts in the Lake Tahoe Basin such as Diamond Peak, Homewood is a privately owned business and is not supported by any public tax or other community assessment,” the real press release says. “For the last several years we have relied on our financial partner for the annual subsidy.”
“For the love of skiing and riding, for many years DSR has been subsidizing the community ski experience while operating at a deficit,” Donner Ski Ranch countered. “We remain steadfast in our belief that skiing and riding cannot just be for the rich and famous.”
Related: Donner Ski Ranch Throws Shade at Homewood, Mt. Waterman